


Dinner with Friends

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [68]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-12
Packaged: 2017-11-09 19:31:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“For leftover spaghetti and because chivalry isn’t dead.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner with Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the Thicker than Water universe where the BAU are teens and kids.

“You didn’t have to walk me home Coop.”

“Yeah I did, for several reasons. One being that chivalry isn’t dead. Also I know you're a walker and Jason is all about the buddy system. Since we’re buddies this works to my advantage. Plus, and this one isn’t the most important or anything but you guys have food at your place and I could use some food.”

“What's up at Casa de Coop?” Emily asked. “You guys always have food.”

“Yeah but mom and dad are working the second shift right now, that’s three to eleven. They just leave me and Jeff to our own devices. There's been a lot of frozen pizza and hot dogs. If I see another frozen pizza I'm gonna chuck it out the window. And you know that means I'm fed up cuz I love frozen pizza…I love all pizza. What are you guys having for dinner tonight? I should be holding this umbrella you know?”

“Why?”

“Prentiss, I'm gonna develop scoliosis if I have to keep bending over like this. It’s worse than Schroeder in Peanuts.”

“You can't develop scoliosis at 17 from bending inappropriately.”

“Gimme the umbrella…please.”

Emily smiled, handing over the umbrella. Coop exhaled and was finally able to stand up to his full height as they walked from the public library to her house in The Palisades area of Washington, DC. She looked at him.

“I think we’re having leftover spaghetti.” She said. “Does that sound good?”

“Almost anything sounds good to me at this point. Except peas, peas never sound good to me. Will Jason be OK with my crashing dinner?”

“The family’s probably already eaten so I’ll just feed you.”

“OK, now your boyfriend is really gonna hate me.” Coop almost pouted.

“Jason doesn’t…”

“See, you can't even lie. I mean I'm glad you can't lie but Jason isn’t fond of me. I don't know why since I'm cool as hell but I'm not above things baffling even me.”

“Yeah.” Emily nodded and tried not to smirk. “Jason doesn’t hate you Coop. He gets jealous sometimes but knows it’s irrational.”

“You're totally in love with him.”

“Yes, I am. But c'mon, if your girlfriend had a male best friend it might not be your favorite thing in the world.”

“I'm thinking of asking out Andi Swann. You think she’d go out with me?”

“I don’t know her that well. She’s in two of my…oh God is this the part where I have to go on a recon mission and drop your name in a conversation that I normally wouldn’t even be having in the first place?”

“Well I wasn’t going to ask but…”

“Good, don’t. Coop, you're awesome. Just be your awesome self and ask her out. I don’t think she’s dating anyone. She used to go out with that guy on the basketball team, the really hairy one, but she's been flying solo for a while.”

“She’s cute.” Coop said.

“I think so.”

“I'm gonna ask her tomorrow I think, or maybe Monday. I think I'm ready to come off the market.”

“The pep squad will be devastated.” Emily replied.

“I know right? I seriously thought being the school mascot would give me access to more pretty girls. I mean proximity wise it has but cheerleaders don’t exactly jump to go out with a grasshopper. Damn, why couldn’t our mascot be like a panther or some other sexy animal? A Kodiak bear…Kodiak bears are sexy.”

“Kodiak bears are predators. Girls don’t like predators; girls spray predators with mace.”

“That’s true. Still, there's gotta be something out there better than a grasshopper. I like being the mascot though; its good times. It will look really good on my college app.”

“Have you narrowed the field?” Emily asked. They rounded the corner and were now just two blocks from her house.

“It's gonna have to be public…my parents can't afford anymore private school after this. My grades aren’t good enough for many scholarships. Hey, can the mascot get a scholarship. Hmm, I need to look into that. 

“But my top 2 choices are University of Maryland and VCU. I've got three dream schools but I don’t want to get my hopes up. No matter what next fall I’ll be in college. My dad said even if I have to go to community college and then transfer to build up my transcripts.”

“You're not doing that bad, Coop.” Emily would know since she’d been tutoring him in something or other since the 10th grade.

“Math and foreign languages are kicking my ass. But if I get a good SAT score I might be able to get by with those Cs. Not to mention people see Georgetown Day School and let some things slide. My parents are paying a fuck of a lot of money for this education. I better not let them down.”

“You're going to get into a college; I'm confident. We should be getting acceptance letters between Christmas and spring break.”

“GWU still your top choice?” Coop asked. He looked at her as she fished her house keys out of her messenger bag.

“Definitely. American’s program is awesome and I applied there but Jason and I both think it’s not a good idea to go to college together.”

“Yeah, this is the time for you to sow your wild oats and all.”

“I don’t have any wild oats.” Emily replied.

“Please tell that to someone who doesn’t know you, Prentiss.”

They were laughing as they walked up on the porch and Emily unlocked the security door. Then she unlocked the front door and they were inside the house. She made Coop hang his jacket in the front closet like always; they left their book bags there, and then made their way into the den. Ashley, Penelope, and JJ were watching TV. Actually Penelope was relaxing on the other side of the couch reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

“Hey guys.” She waved.

“Hey Emily!”

“Is all your homework done?”

“Yes.” They said in unison.

“Is your math done JJ?”

“Done and checked by our resident genius and Gideon too. I got it all under control.”

“How are the three coolest ladies in the nation’s capital?” Coop asked.

“Hey Coop!”

“Where’s Jason?” Emily asked.

“He's upstairs.” Penelope looked up from her book. “He said poke your head in when you got home.”

“I will.” 

“What's for dinner?” Coop asked.

“We had spaghetti.” Ashley replied.

“Help yourself, Coop. I'm gonna go and say hi to Jason.”

“Tell him I said yo.”

“I will.” Emily nodded.

“Hey, Pigtails, wanna help me make some dinner?”

Ashley grinned when he called her that, jumping off the couch and going into the kitchen with him.

“You gotta tell me all about third grade kid. You must be running that school by now.”

“I'm on my way up the ladder.” Ashley said.

“I knew it. It’s the pigtails…they instill fear in the hearts of the fearful.”

000

“Hey.” Emily tapped on the master bedroom door and poked her head in.

“Hey there.” Jason beamed when he saw her.

She walked into the room, launched herself into the arms of the boy she loved, and covered his face with kisses. The way Jason laughed filled her belly with joy. Finally, Emily kissed his lips.

“You're pretty happy to see me, huh?”

“Yeah, a little bit.”

He laughed, kissing her again.

“Coop’s downstairs.” Emily said as Jason held her tighter.

“Why?”

“For leftover spaghetti and because chivalry isn’t dead.”

“Am I supposed to know what that means?”

“Leftover spaghetti is kinda self-explanatory.”

“There's no food at Coop’s house?” Jason tried to keep his tone neutral. 

His dislike of Eric Cooper was irrational and silly. Emily was in love with him, not Coop. It wasn’t Emily’s feelings that worried him. He didn’t want Coop hanging onto something that was never to be, or worse making some kind of pass at Emily. 

She could handle herself, Jason had to trust her. But if Coop did something he’d want to kill him. It would hurt Emily because she considered him a friend. As long as he stayed in that friend box Jason would do his best to tolerate him. This is when his Job-like patience came in handy.

“Usually there is but both his parents are on the second shift right now. They’re working three to eleven. He and his brother have been living off frozen pizza and hotdogs since it started. Hopefully there will be time for one of his parents to cook this weekend.”

“He can't cook?”

“He can cook frozen pizza.”

“Yeah.” Jason smirked. “It’s fine.”

“I told him it would be.” Emily smiled. “Oh by the way, he said yo.”

“Tell him I said yo right back.”

“I better get something to eat myself; its getting late.”

“So that means I have to let you go?” he asked.

“I really hate to say yes but…yes.”

“One more kiss.” Jason teased her lips with his.

“Oh yeah.”

Emily always felt high when they kissed. And she’d had good drugs before so she knew high when she felt it. Running her fingers through his raven ringlets, Emily moaned into his mouth. Slowly and reluctantly, Jason pulled away from her.

“You need to eat dinner. And you don’t have to worry about bedtime, I’ll take care of Ashley and Spencer.”

“You're so awesome.” She climbed off the bed grinning from ear to ear. “I might sneak back in here later and show you how much I like you.”

“No hanky panky on school nights.” he shook his head.

“Mmm hmm, we’ll see.”

After blowing him a kiss, Emily left the room. Back downstairs in the kitchen Coop and Ashley chattered away like two little old ladies.

“How's the spaghetti?” Emily asked. She grabbed a plate from the cabinet and went over to the pot on the stove.

“Its delicious.” Coop smiled. “Check it out, Pigtails is planning total world domination. I'm gonna be her driver so she won't take me out on the first wave.”

“I’ma spare him.” Ashley replied giggling.

Emily added cheese to her spaghetti, grabbed some juice from the fridge, and joined them at the table. She was hungrier than she thought and it smelled amazing. It would probably taste better than it had last night.

“We’re probably gonna build a ramp so I can teach the munchkin some BMX moves before it gets too cold.”

“Coop, she's still on training wheels.”

“Oh. Well you know what that means munchkin?”

“What?” Ashley asked.

“We gotta get you on two wheels. First, remove the training wheels; second, take over the world. You don’t have to rush cuz the training wheel situation is delicate. I was on them till I was twelve.”

“No you weren't.” Ashley laughed and so did Emily.

“Seriously, I was…Scout’s honor. You can do better than I did.”

“OK.”

Emily just smiled at the two of them. Coop and his little brother weren't sworn enemies or anything but he got along much better with Emily’s siblings. Her home was like his second home, and the same for Zoë. They could be there and just get away from the stress at their places. Emily was glad she could provide that for the people she cared about.

“Jason said yo back.” She said.

“Betcha he didn’t.” Coop said with a full mouth.

“He did, and don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Yes ma'am.” He nodded.

“I’ma go back and watch TV.” Ashley said.

“Good deal. High five, Pigtails!”

She grinned, high fived him, and rushed back into the den.

“She's a cool ass kid.” Coop said. This time his mouth was only half-full.

“You're my friend for so many reasons but what you just said is so high up on my list.”

“Tell me Prentiss; is my rugged handsomeness at least in the top five?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “But your sense of humor is.”

“Oh haha.”

“No seriously Coop. One of the reasons I didn’t speak to Lindsay again before she moved away, and you can't tell anyone I'm telling you this…”

“I’d never betray your confidence.”

“She said that us taking in Ashley was dumb.” Emily spoke in a low tone. “She said I deserved to be a teenager not a mom and I didn’t have to be with Jason because I felt I owed him something.”

“Oh harsh.” Coop made a face. “She whined to me a bit that you weren't speaking to her but I told her I wasn’t getting in the middle. I'm glad I didn’t know this then…I would've read her the riot act. Its true, your family is a bit unconventional; but it’s awesome. You guys are good for and to each other. And even though Jason Gideon is not my biggest fan most of that is because he's so in love with you he can't see straight. Tell me how it feels to have it all together at 17.”

“Are you kidding?” Emily laughed. “Just because I know who I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with doesn't mean I have it all together. I've got a long way to go.”

“You think Andi might give me a shot though?” Coop asked, turning the conversation back to his rather dismal love life.

“Yes Coop, I seriously do. Just ask her to a movie or out to the diner or something. She's cool, not snotty like some of the girls we go to school with. Even if she lets you down it'll be gently.”

“I don’t wanna think about that.”

“Do you want me to wrap up some spaghetti for Jeff?” Emily asked, getting up from the table. She was definitely going to have seconds. She barely ate lunch today because she was studying for her Latin test in the library. Senior year was kicking her ass.

“Oh yeah, that'll be cool. I'm not taking food out of the munchkins’ mouths, am I?”

“I think that would be impossible.”

“Hi Emily.” Spencer walked into the kitchen. “Hi Coop.”

“What up, Spencer Reid.”

He went over and gave Emily a hug and kiss. Then he climbed up on the stool and got some Oreos from the cabinet.

“You're cutting it close, Spencer.” Emily said.

“I know but I only need three. I think my blood sugar’s low.”

“If anyone would know, he would.” Coop pointed to him.

“Finish eating Coop; I've got stuff to do.”

“Oh right.”

Wolfing down food was a specialty of the almost 18 year old. Then he took the Tupperware Emily gave him and it was back through the den for final goodbyes before they were at the front door.

“I owe you one.” He said, stuffing the Tupperware in his backpack.

“You can buy me a burger the next time we’re out.”

“You got it.” Coop smiled, putting on his jacket. It was the third week of October; the winds of seasonal change were blowing. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yep. Call when you get home.”

“You really are such a mom, Emily Prentiss.”

“Bite me, Eric Cooper.”

“I would but your boyfriend doesn’t need another excuse to beat me senseless.”

She laughed, giving him a friendly punch in the arm. As usual Emily watched Coop walk down the street until he turned the corner toward his house. It was about a mile away but these could be dangerous streets. Emily tried not to worry too much but couldn’t help herself. Closing the front door and locking up, she went back in the den. The girls were still on TV and Harry Potter.

“We've got to find an alternative to watching TV.” She said.

“Watching a movie?” JJ suggested as Penelope giggled behind her book.

“That’s not exactly what I meant. Who has kitchen duty tonight?”

“Morgan.” Ashley replied.

“Penelope, can you go and get him. He needs to get to bed at a decent hour as well.”

“OK.”

She put her book facedown and got up from the couch. Emily took her place. It had been a really long day; school and then the library. At least all of her homework was done. But she was still hungry and definitely tired. 

There were some days she felt it more than others. The rain couldn’t have been helping. That was why Emily opted out of first period…getting to school at 8:20 beat 7:15 by a mile. It wasn’t as if she was sleeping in; she still had to get the younger kids ready for school. But even having 15 minutes or so of time for herself in the morning was better than nothing. 

College was so close, which meant her own schedule and a little more control. Control, Emily always liked that to a point. While her responsibilities were plenty so was her control. It made up for anything she could possibly complain about.

***


End file.
